We’d like to congratulate our friends at cheqd on launching a production token-enabled network for verifiable identity that supports W3C standards for decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials!
The cheqd network allows for the exchange of identity credentials in a decentralized and self-sovereign manner. This puts individuals in control of their digital information, with the ability to choose what and with whom they share.
The network leverages an economic incentive system, made possible through the cheqd token, that will enable entirely new use cases and business models across an open ecosystem of issuers, holders, and verifiers. Issuers can get paid for the credentials they provide, verifiers can use these trusted credentials to streamline data workflows, and all participants benefit from network effects as the ecosystem grows.
The token already plays an important role in maintaining the health of the network, allowing for true decentralization and permissionless access:
- All writes to the global ledger must be accompanied by the payment of a fee. This fee creates a financial disincentive to abuse the network. The token allows that fee to be paid without establishing a business relationship with a transaction endorser or negotiating a common currency.
- Fees can be distributed to the global community of stewards who contribute resources to the network without those fees having to be paid and distributed in a common currency.
- Tokens can be used to incentivize the continued development of the network.
In the future, paying for digital credentials with the token will have the following advantages over traditional payment mechanisms:
- The payment is settled as part of the credential exchange protocol, ensuring both the issuer and the identity owner receive what they expect in the transaction.
- The identity owner can purchase a credential from an issuer without having to negotiate a common currency.
- The identity owner can purchase a credential from an issuer without having to provide personal information to a third party.
- The verifier can pay for use of a credential without undermining the privacy of the identity holder.
At Evernym, we plan to run a validator node and for our products to support the cheqd network, and will share details of those plans including a timeline in due course. On the way, we will work with our customers and partners to help them understand the benefits of adopting the cheqd network. Our support of the cheqd network does not affect our ongoing support of Sovrin or our customers using Sovrin today.
With this week’s launch, the cheqd network provides a working Cosmos-compatible network with on-ledger governance, payment tokens, and a W3C-compliant DID method. Evernym is proud to have contributed a client library for building identity applications that makes it easy to support both the cheqd Network and existing Indy networks.
We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the team at cheqd, and to seeing what innovative capabilities they launch next.
To learn more about cheqd, visit www.cheqd.io or check out our joint webinar, where we discussed the role of economic incentives in self-sovereign identity.
